


Breath of the New Hyrule

by underwaterocean



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Baby Zelink, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family, Happy Ending, No Angst, Post-Calamity Ganon, original child character - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28605117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/underwaterocean/pseuds/underwaterocean
Summary: A short little fluffy, domestic oneshot based after the Calamity in BotW where Zelda has regained her thrown, married Link, and had a child.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 108





	Breath of the New Hyrule

It was effortless to get her to giggle. A sideways glance, a silly noise, a quick motion. She painted the air with the sounds of her happiness, letting it fly through the new corridors of the reconstructed castle walkways like a flock of birds. But no one was quite as skilled at teasing the joyful noise from her as  _ him.  _ Sometimes all he had to do was raise an eyebrow and she would melt into a puddle of pure glee. He drank it all in. Before her, before both of them, he had been hollow. A shell of a man trying to piece together patches of a life he did not remember nor did he understand. Bound by destiny, prophecy, just  _ stories.  _ Stories told in voices that were not his own. None of it felt real to him. She was his tie to the world. His anchor. A physical reminder that he was solid, he was real. He was a man beyond his title or his destiny. Though his love for her mother had breathed life back into his once barren, memory-stripped existence,  _ her  _ birth had ignited something within him he didn’t know was there. He would die for them both. He had already done it once. 

The small child ran barefoot through the castle corridors, chasing after an alley cat she had seen leap through an open window. Her long, sandy blonde locks trailed after her, whipping carelessly in the wind. She was determined to catch it and keep it and make it her own. As she rounded the many corners, she had already named it, designed it a sleeping quarters, and decided on a dinner menu she was sure it would enjoy. That was good and well until she lost sight of it. A small pout climbed across her face like a creeping vine and she huffed and crossed her arms. Maybe next time. She’d be quicker next time.

“Princess! Princess!” a voice called from below the curtain wall she had been dashing about, “They’re back!” 

Her eyes grew wide at the sudden information. The only important part of that "they" for her, of course would be _him._ _ Daddy is back,  _ the thought brought giggles to the back of her throat and she let them out without question, covering her mouth with quiet hands. 

She put no thought into her movements as she turned on her heels and began running full speed to the gate where she knew he would be entering. He was nothing but predictable. He knew she had trouble when he was gone, so he mapped it out with as much certainty as he was able. He left and arrived through the same gate, always attempting to adhere to the strict time schedule he had given her. Occasionally, and much to the other men’s chagrin, he would leave them behind in favor of reaching her sooner, if only to see the surprise light up her face like the luminescence of the moon kissing the tops of the Great Deku tree’s highest branches. His heart began to ache the longer he spent away from them, the child and her mother, as if their very presence was the only incentive it had to keep beating at all. 

She ran with all the speed she could coax into her legs until she was unceremoniously stopped in her tracks by a slender arm wrapping around her abdomen. 

“And where do you think you’re going in such a hurry?” intoned the voice in her ear as the fingers around her stomach began to trail up to her underarms, the most precarious position they could be in. 

“Mommy!” she shrieked, her body innately recognizing the essence of her touch, “Let me go! They’re back! Daddy’s back! I want to surprise him!”

Zelda peeked around the child’s face and blew a raspberry on her cheek as she swiftly wiggled the fingers she had expertly placed where she knew they would do the most damage. 

“Not if I get there first!” 

The little girl melted into the playful tickling, gasping for breaths between giggles and shouts of, “Stop it!”

Zelda giggled herself and lowered her daughter to the ground. 

“Come, my love, we will go together,” she smiled down at her, “I have missed him too”

“You’re going to hog him all up!” the little voice beneath her whined, blue eyes scrunched together in a feigned display of anger. Zelda never got over how similar their eyes were. It was as if he had given her his own. Actually, she was very similar to him in almost every way. Their eyes, hair color, skin tone. She was nearly his exact match simply in a smaller form. She even inherited his recklessness and impulsivity. Zelda had hoped she would be more inclined to quieter pursuits, but she loved her despite of it, perhaps because of it. She had fallen in love with her father, after all, including his wild nature. It wasn’t difficult to fall in love with her too. She had made it quite easy. The moment she’d seen Link go weak in the knees as he clutched her squirming body in his taught arms she knew was in for. She had them both trying to tilt the world’s axis at an angle that better suited her needs the moment she was born and they had worked together to ensure it happened ever since. They’d done everything together since they reunited on that field all those years ago. It was a position they’d found themselves most comfortable in and they approached parenthood no differently, other than when Zelda scolded him for sneaking her too many sweets at suppertime. He did have a penchant for spoiling her rotten. 

“Well, I did have him first, you know,” Zelda laughed, taking her by the hand and guiding her to the courtyard where she could already hear the gathering sounds of tired horses and even more tired men. 

She saw him first, dismounting from his beautiful brown mare, no doubt scanning the courtyard for her. His eyes locked first on Zelda and his usual stoic expression melted, eyes going soft at the corners. It had been a whole month since he had seen her last. He had been in Rito Village helping to facilitate trade negotiations between the proud Avian race and the even prouder Zora, both of which claiming either travel by sea or by air was obviously the quickest and most sensible option for long distance transportation of valuable goods. It had taken him all that time to reach an arrangement they could both accept. Zelda had been loath to send him, but knew he was trusted by both races, a characteristic not many others in her court could claim. So he had gone and she had counted the moments until he returned again. Her count finally reached its conclusion the moment their eyes met, the very spirit of the Goddess stirring inside her at the sight of his long hair curled around the base of his neck from the wind. 

Link’s smile was interrupted by the air being knocked from his lungs as his daughter barreled towards him, jumping off a nearby box to throw herself into his arms. He began to laugh and spin her around, holding her close, inhaling the sweet scent of apple and honey she always seemed to have. 

“My Princess!” he exclaimed, throwing her into the air the way he knew she liked. 

“Daddy!” she squealed. 

When he caught her, she nestled into the crook of his neck and pushed her face into him as if she was trying to meld their bodies together. 

“You were gone a very, very long time. Don’t do that again. You’re in trouble.”

“Oh, am I?” he laughed, relishing the way her small body seemed to fit perfectly into the contour of his own. 

“Yes, no sweets for you at dinner. Did you bring me a prize?!” 

“Hmmm,” his chest vibrated as he purposely drug out the word to build the suspense, “Perhaps I forgot.” 

She pushed her arms against him so that they were now face to face, stormy blue seas gazing fiercely into calmer waters. 

“You promised!”

“Oh, you know, I’m quite old, as you love to keep reminding me. You know how forgetful old people are,” he said, trying to hold back a teasing smile, “I even forgot to pack my cane! Oh my!” 

He pretended to lose function of his legs and dramatically staggered about the courtyard while she held tightly to him, trying, but failing, to withhold the laughter that was boiling over inside her. They fell together in a pile of hay that had been gathered for the horses and laughed until they could finally find their breath again. 

“My, my, I guess you two are quite busy, perhaps I’ll come back another time.”

Zelda had been watching the two of them as she closed the distance, a smile hiding behind the verdant of her eyes. She only thought she had loved him before, but that was before she saw him as a  _ father  _ and that love had inexplicably multiplied . He was everything she had wanted him to be. He was compassionate, caring, and fiercely protective just as she knew he would be. But something else had shifted in him when she had begun to walk and talk and come into her own; he was  _ silly.  _ He was never above playing whatever game she invented or weaving her imaginary tales or embarrassing her with bad jokes and puns. Whenever together, they were always laughing. She never grew tired of watching it. Her heart was so full of love for him and their daughter that she feared it may ignite within her and the smoke would trail from her ears. 

“Oh no you don’t!” Link yelled as he lunged forward and grabbed her wrist, pulling her down into hay with them.

“Link!” she gasped, but her mouth was soon too preoccupied to scold him further as it  found his, hungry after a long month apart. They fused into one another on either side of their clearly disgusted daughter, who ended up in a familiar squished position between them. She had grown used to it, but that didn’t mean she always tolerated it. She pushed her head up between them, separating their kiss, causing them both to groan in frustration. Link nearly cried out as he clutched the base of her neck, his own craning to reach over the child’s head to get to what he’d been craving for weeks now. 

“Hellooo! I’m right here!” she complained, continuing to push them apart with her hands. 

“Well, this is quite improper behavior for the King Consort if I do say so,” Zelda  blushed as Link smirked at her after managing to compose himself, lifting up to sneak in another kiss before rising from the hay, extending an arm to help her up.

“Apologies, Your Highness, I shall behave with the utmost respect from now on,” he saluted her and bowed deeply, staying down for just a hair longer than necessary. 

She smacked him on the arm and he grinned at her, taking her hand in his own before picking the child up and hoisting her on top of his broad shoulders. They walked together deeper into the castle grounds, stopping occasionally to speak with anyone who wished to share a word with the new royal family. 

Hyrule had been overjoyed at the union of Princess and Hero. It made quite the story and the people relished in the romance of it. If their marriage had brought happiness to the Kingdom, the birth of the princess had only heightened it. She had quickly earned a reputation around the castle for her rambunctious nature, but what stood out the most to the people was her attachment to Link. She could often be found right on his heels, whether he was training with the guard or sitting in on diplomatic meetings. The two of them were so inseparable that some had even taken to calling her “the King’s little shadow”. She did resemble him closely enough as it was. Though she held a deep, encompassing love for her mother as well, she seemed to gravitate towards her father and he felt an equal pull in her direction. When diplomats and court proceedings managed to steal Zelda away from him, it was the two of them who tormented the castle together, leaving a trail of crumbs from the pastries they stole along the way. 

“I’m hungry!” the child piped up as she reached up to let the silk of the banner that hung over them kiss the palms of her hands. It was the sign of her family, the new royal crest; a magnificent rendering of her father’s sword entwined by Silent Princess flowers. Just the sight of it made her feel at home. 

“Have you not been feeding our minion, Zelda? She does require a copious amount of snacks,” Link teased, bumping into her with his shoulder as they walked side by side. 

“ _ You  _ require a copious amount of snacks," she scolded him playfully, "You’re going to rot her teeth.”  
  
She let her fingers brush against the back of his hand before reaching out to intertwine them with his. 

He breathed out at the contact, squeezing her back before tilting the child on his shoulders so that he could kiss her again, never satisfied. 

“I missed you,” he breathed into the air just outside of her face which she greedily stole for herself before claiming the softness of his lips with her own. 

“It is a royal order for you never to leave me again,” she whispered as they gently pulled apart. 

“Yes, Your Highness,” he smiled in return.

“Can we have fruit cake?” the little one asked a bird as it flew overhead, the sound of Zelda’s laughter causing an updraft that took it further into the azure of the vibrant Hyrule sky, no longer tainted by the insidious stain of malice that once clung there. 

“We can  _ always  _ have fruitcake,” Zelda said as she reached up to pinch the softness of her thigh, making her squirm on his shoulders. 

“And will you share with me?” Link asked, his brows quirked mischievously as they bumped into one another up the newly laid castle steps that led to their quaint royal chambers. 

“What is it that you want me to share, hero?” Zelda let her voice drop into that all but innocent lilt she knew would make him quiver. He’d regained a kingdom for her, died for her, and now he chose to live for her. It made the intoxicating look across his face that much sweeter when he turned to her, now seemingly incapable of speech, his mouth twisted in that way that meant he was holding back a barrage of less than kingly comments. 

“I think you’re too old for cake,” the little one interrupted their moment, grabbing a loose fistful of his hair as she tilted his head in the direction of the kitchens. 

“Much too old indeed,” Zelda agreed with a grin of her own

“If I’m old what does that make you?”

“As ancient as the Goddess,” she lifted up on her toes to lick the reply from his lips before he could form it as she pushed open the old wooden door with her back. He followed her swiftly as he always did. As he always would. For he was the Hero and she was his Goddess and he would follow her anywhere, particularly into the kitchen for cake.  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Um. I wrote this like a year ago and forgot about it and then randomly remembered it. I was intending on working on my other fic but my brain is a soggy bowl of cereal today so I edited this to post for some serotonin instead. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy this little slice of life! See, I am capable of writing without angst! I am!


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